POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (February 15, 2020) – Led by double-digit kills in back-to-back matches from senior David Lehman, the fifth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology men's volleyball team swept past No. 2 Vassar College and took home a 3-1 win over Elms College Saturday as a part of the Vassar Tri-Match.

The Ducks hit .350 as a team against Vassar for their seventh sweep of the season and had 10 total service aces in the win over Elms to move to 11-1 overall this season.

Lehman was phenomenal in the victory over the Brewers, finishing with 18 kills and a season high nine digs while hitting .361. The 2019 United Volleyball Conference Player of the Year followed it up with 11-kill, four-dig performance against Elms.

Vassar hit just .185 in the loss and was led by Jefferson Waters who finished with 10 kills and nine digs. Stevens is now 3-0 this season against teams ranked inside the top-15.

Elms, meanwhile, got 12 kills from Jeremy Torres and seven kills on just 13 swings by Carlos Mercado. Mercado also added 31 assists, seven digs and five blocks in the loss.

In the win over Vassar, juniors Jack Bittker and Ryan Byrne also finished with double-digit kills as they produced 13 and 10 kills, respectively.

Byrne also produced a team-high 13 kills while adding a career-high five service aces versus Elms.

Senior setter Grant Burden distributed the ball all over the court throughout the day, with 39 assists against Vassar and 42 against Elms.

Volleys and Points (Match One vs. Vassar)

• Vassar jumped ahead early in the opening set scoring six of the first eight points to take an early four-point lead.
• Lehman and Byrne then teamed up to score the next six points for the Ducks to cut the deficit to 10-9.
• Trailing 19-14 late in the set, Stevens went on an 8-1 run featuring two kills from both Lehman and Jack Bittker as well as a Byrne service ace to take a 22-20 lead.
• After the Brewers tied the contest at 22, the Ducks were able to take advantage of three consecutive Vassar errors to grab the opening set 25-22.
• The second set started much like the first with Vassar taking an early 6-2 edge.
• The Ducks were able to chip away at the lead and tie the set at 13. The teams traded points back-and-forth for the next 14 total points as they remained tied at 20.
• Stevens then scored the final five points of the set thanks to a pair of kills by Byrne as well as three Vassar errors to win 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Behind 7-5 in the third and final set, the Ducks went on a 6-1 run capped off by a kill from Lehman to take an 11-8 edge.
• A 4-1 Vassar run then tied the set at 13 before Stevens was able to grab a one-point lead at 16-15.
• The one-point lead did not stay that way for much longer as the Ducks grabbed nine of the final 13 points of the set thanks to kills from five different players including two apiece by Byrne, Lehman and Bittker as well as one each by Stedman van Arsdale and Johnathan Frenzel.

Match Points (Match One vs. Vassar)

• Leading 24-19, Byrne was able to rise up and put down his 10th kill of the match to seal the 25-19 victory in the final set for the Ducks. It was the first time Stevens has swept a ranked opponent since defeating No. 6 Southern Virginia in straight sets on April 5, 2019.

Inside the Numbers (Match One vs. Vassar)

• Stevens hit .350 overall in the match including a whopping .444 with just two errors in the final set while holding the second-ranked Brewers to a .185 attack percentage.
• Burden, who came into the match ranked fourth in NCAA Division III with 10.96 assists per set, finished with 39 assists in just three sets to increase his season average to 11.13 assists per set.
• Bittker was extremely efficient throughout the contest, producing 13 kills and just one error for a .444 attack percentage. He also added six digs and a block in the win.
• Michael Snajder had double-digit digs for the second time this season with 12 to go along with four assists.
• The teams were tied in total blocks with four apiece while Vassar held a narrow 37-35 edge in digs.
• Stevens had just 10 total errors in the contest while the Brewers finished with 19.

Unsung Hero (Match One vs. Vassar)

• Bittker had just three kills in the match, but they all came as a part of a runs for the Ducks. He also produced three blocks in the victory.

Volleys and Points (Match Two vs. Elms)

• The Ducks started out the match on a hot streak, scoring the first five points highlighted by back-to-back service aces by Byrne.
• Leading 11-7, Stevens extended the lead to eight with a 4-0 run capped off by a service ace from Lehman.
• Stevens was able to keep Elms at arms-length the rest of the way, holding at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the set and winning 25-19 thanks to another service ace, this time by Jack Fyda, to win the set and go up 1-0.
• Holding a 7-5 edge early in the second set, the Ducks got back-to-back kills by Byrne as a part of a 4-0 run to extend the lead 11-5.
• After Elms was able to cut the deficit back to four at 18-14, Stevens rattled off seven consecutive points highlighted by two kills by Frenzel and a pair of aces from Byrne to win the set 25-14.
• After trading points back-and-forth for the first half of the third set, Elms went on a 5-0 run to grab an 18-14 edge.
• Leading 18-16, the Blazers then scored six of the next seven points to make the score 24-17.
• Stevens was able to stave off three set points but could not get any close as Elms avoided the sweep with a 25-20 win.
• The Ducks went on a 5-1 run early in the fourth and final set to grab an early 8-5 edge.
• Elms was able to claw back into the contest and take a 16-15 lead halfway through the set.
• Leading 21-20, Stevens scored three straight points after kills from Lehman and Fyda to force a match point.
• The Blazers did not go away quietly, however, as they staved off four consecutive match points to tie the set at 24.
• Stevens had two more opportunities to put the match away at 25-24 and 26-25 but could not close it out either time as Elms was able to side-out on back-to-back possessions.
• Tied at 26, the Ducks finally broke through with consecutive points after a Byrne kill and a double block from Frenzel and Burden to win 28-26 and grab the match 3-1.

Match Point (Match Two vs. Elms)

• Leading 27-26 and in their seventh attempt at match point, Frenzel and Burden teamed up to block Blazers' junior Jeremy Torres to win the set and the match. It was both Frenzel and Burden's third total block of the match.

Inside the Numbers (Match Two vs. Elms)

• Stevens finished the contest with 10 total service aces, the most they have had since producing 16 in the win over Brooklyn College on Feb. 2.
• The Ducks hit .270 in the contest overall, aided largely by a phenomenal .591 attack percentage in the second set and a .364 percentage in the fourth. Stevens did not commit a single error in the second set.
• Freshman Alex Franke led the way at the net defensively, tying a career-high with six blocks while adding five kills.
• Burden produced a double-double for the third time this season in the win with 42 assists and 10 digs while also adding three blocks.
• Fyda narrowly missed on double-digit kills in the win with nine and a .316 attack percentage.
• Much like in the first match, Frenzel did not have a high volume of swings but connected on his opportunities with seven kills on 11 total attempts and zero errors.

Unsung Heros (Match Two vs. Elms)

• Franke and freshman Nathan Lancia both had five kills apiece in the win for the Ducks. Franke added six blocks while Lancia hit .400 overall with just one error.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Patrick Dorywalski)

• "In the Vassar match, all three pin hitters were unstoppable with a combined 41 kills. Byrne and Lehman continued their success in the second match as well. Byrne was amazing at the service line as well today."
• "I certainly have to give a lot of credit to Grant's setting and excellent passing by pretty much all receivers today."

Next Up

• Stevens returns to Canavan Arena for a Middle Atlantic Conference matchup against Arcadia University Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
• The Ducks have won the last two contests between the two schools including a 3-0 sweep on April 6, 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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